Man charged in DeKalb bank robbery, accused of stealing $50K in cash

DeKALB – DeKalb police on Friday arrested a Chicago man they said was wanted for robbing a credit union while armed this summer and getting away with more than $50,000 in cash.

Matthew L. Martin, 43, was arrested after “a brief standoff” at his home in Chicago on Friday morning, according to a news release from the DeKalb Police Department. Police from DeKalb, Chicago and the FBI’s Special Weapons and Tactics Team arrested Martin on a warrant about 6 a.m.

Martin is charged with armed robbery, being an armed habitual criminal and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. If convicted of either armed robbery or being an armed habitual criminal, both Class X felonies, Martin could face up to 30 years in prison.

DeKalb police responded to the Illinois Community Credit Union, 1500 Barber Greene Road, at 8:21 a.m. July 31 for a reported armed bank robbery. A suspect fled, however, and remained on the run. The credit union was closed to customers briefly while authorities responded.

Police said they conducted a “meticulous and exhaustive investigation.” They interviewed multiple employees who were at the bank at the time of the robbery and reviewed surveillance footage.

DeKalb police said the footage showed a man wearing camouflage clothing and a mask armed with a gun who forced his way into the credit union, and ordered the bank employees to open a safe and place money into a duffle bag, according to the release.

The man made off with thousands of dollars. Police said the armed robber is Martin, who is in custody at the DeKalb County jail in Sycamore.